PHILIP
My heart stopped beating momentarily as the ladder tilted away from the house, falling to the ground as flames roared out of Abby’s bedroom window. Even as Ryan was falling, he twisted midair so he could land on his stomach instead of his back, saving Abby’s life. There was nothing I could do to stop the momentum of the ladder, even though I was standing at the bottom, attempting to hold it in place. The force of air out the window pushed it back too suddenly for me to keep it stead. Thankfully, I was able to stop its speedy decent, but not enough to halt both Ryan and Abby from tumbling to the ground. I rushed to them, smelling the stench of smoke all over as I heard the sound of sirens blaring in the distance. Abby was coughing and crying as she got off of Ryan’s back. Her bare feet were bloody. As she rolled away and pushed Ryan’s shoulder, I heard him groan before his head turned to the side. I kneeled down next to him, taking Abby to sit in my lap.
“Hey, don’t move. You could be seriously hurt.”
“Nah. But damn that hurt. Are you all right, princess?” He pushed up onto his elbows, then flipped himself over on his back.
“Martha,” she whimpered. Her bottom lip wobbled as she started to cry and look back at the only place she probably ever felt safe, protected, loved. It broke my heart. Ryan sat up, pushed next to me, so we were basically cradling her between us as she sobbed.
There was nothing we could do for Martha. We didn’t even know for sure if she was still in the house, though I couldn’t imagine any scenario she would have escaped and left a child inside.
The fire roared and crackled, and every once in a while it would hit something new and pop, sizzle, or explode. Even as the fire department tried to put it out, it was roaring its anger. I watched, transfixed as they finally killed the flames.
Ryan picked Abby up. She was coughing badly from smoke inhalation and her bare feet still had glass in them. He walked her over to the ambulance, but when he tried to set her down, she clung to him. “Shhh, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. You need oxygen and the glass out of your feet.”
“But you won’t leave me?”
Ryan shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere, princess. Please let the nice man have a look, okay? Philip and I are right here.”
The EMT started taking her vitals and listened to her breathing. He nodded, smiling with kindness as he looked down at the terrified nine-year-old. “Everything looks good, young lady. You are very lucky.”
“Th-thank you,” she stuttered.
“We will wrap your feet and then let the doctors in the ER look for any glass.” He eyed Ryan and I warily. “Are you her family?”
“We’re all she has left,” Ryan said sadly.
“We can only let one of you ride in the ambulance with her.” I looked to Ryan and indicated he should go. He breathed out a puff of air in relief. While Abby had an attachment to me as well, it was clear there was a special bond between them.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital. I’m going to stick around here and see what they uncover, as well as give whatever report they need.”
“Thank you.” Ryan jumped in the back of the ambulance waiting for them to strap Abby down and wrap her feet. I watched as what was becoming the two most important people in my life drove away in the back of an ambulance. Shit. I was so screwed.
The firefighters were taking their time going through the house looking for Martha and making sure the fire was completely out. Burning hot embers could flare up at any time and start a whole new problem if they weren’t thorough.
Daniel pulled up in his Ford and I cursed myself for forgetting to call him. He jumped from the car and ran toward the house before pulling out his phone. My phone rang in my pocket and I felt even guiltier. I was the first one he called after seeing it for himself. “Daniel,” I yelled out to him loudly. He spun around looking at me in shock.
“What happened?” I relayed the events of the night anyway, even though it seemed he already knew. “Shit. This was Harold, wasn’t it?”
Before I could confirm my suspicions, a fireman called out, “We’ve got a body.” My heart stopped as I ran to the corded-off portion of the yard. Daniel was hot on my heels.
“I have a feeling it’s Martha. Abby said she’d gone downstairs.”
The other firemen rushed to the yard, along with the other EMTs. They laid a white sheet over Martha’s broken body. My heart constricted as I thought about the kind old woman I had weekly dinners with the past few weeks. “Where did you find her?” I asked a passing fireman.
“She was in the kitchen. It looks like that was the source of the fire.”
“Is there anyone else in the house? She called us about a disturbance. A man trying to break into her home.”
“We haven’t found anyone, but based on the burn patterns it looks like an accelerant was used. We’ll know more after a full investigation.” I nodded my head walking away from the scene. I didn’t want to see Martha like that. From the sounds of it, she was gone before we ever arrived. Thank fuck we were able to get to Abby in time.
“God, poor Abby. The kid just can’t catch a break,” Daniel said sadly.
“I’m gonna head to the hospital and see how she’s doing.” I made my way to the car. Daniel followed close behind me.
“I’ll meet you there. Then I need to figure out where to place her. Fuck,” I heard him mutter. No truer words were said that day.